Sunday, December 28, 2014

vermillion waves wash
across an ancient sea,
spherical ripples blown
by Mojave winds against
sun-baked cliffs where
wisdom of the Ancient Ones
carved through desert varnish
tells the story of hunters,
the big horn and antelope

life sacrified
for collective survival.

Shamans chant around
sacred hoop sculpted
from gathered stones
cleansed by sage,
warmed by juniper,
a spiral sun carved
into the petroglyph tableau
shines down on cholla,
prickly pear and maize

Sunday, July 6, 2014

when life was worn hard
as a vein of lead, its spirit
subduedunder steel-toed boots
from The Company Store,
when Earth weighed heavily
on their chests, even before
the carbon tunnel cave-in,
its crushing vacuum compressing,
strangling, abducting their lives
breath by wheezing breath.

Until that day in 1940
when the whistle screamed,
“Don’t take a chance,
it may be your last.”

About Me

...wayfaring poet and landscape photographer working as a writer, independent copy editor, and victim advocate.
Leslie is co-founder of Laudably Tarnished, a poetry workshop. Memberships include: PenHouseInk Press; Poetry Center San Jose; California Writers Club, South Bay Chapter; and Henderson Writers' Group, sponsor of the Las Vegas Writer's Conference. Her poems, articles, and short stories have been published in magazines, anthologies, and literary journals. Her "Hacienda Bridge" photo was featured on "Oprah" in 2002.
Leslie is currently working on a chapbook of her poems and a non-fiction book containing interviews of writers and artists drawn to Las Vegas, Nevada.